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Hot-hitting Arcia gets start over Parmelee

5/8/13: Oswaldo Arcia slaps a run-scoring double to center field to give the Twins a 14-6 lead in the fifth inning

By Rhett Bollinger
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MLB.com |

BOSTON -- With rookie Oswaldo Arcia swinging a hot bat, right fielder Chris Parmelee was on the bench for a second straight game against the Red Sox on Thursday.

Arcia, who turned 22 on Thursday, went 2-for-4 with a triple and a two-run homer in the Twins' 5-3 win to extend his career-best hit streak to seven games and improve his batting average to .313. It came on the heels of setting a career high with four hits in Wednesday's 15-8 win over the Red Sox. And more important, he drove the ball the other way, which impressed Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

"It was kind of growing up in front of our eyes," Gardenhire said. "He was chasing a couple wild pitches and changeups and then, all of a sudden, he no-strides it and shoots it [to left field]. So he made a little bit of an adjustment, which for us is fun to watch."

Gardenhire added that Parmelee spent Wednesday and Thursday working with hitting coach Tom Brunansky to make a few adjustments. Parmelee is in the midst of an 0-for-15 slump that has dropped his batting average to .200.

"I don't whether it's a late setup or what, but he's not catching the ball at the front of the plate right now," Gardenhire said. "He's letting the ball get really deep and there's no extension. So we're talking about how he's not extending to the ball right now. So this is good. Gives him a couple days to do his work and everything."